Black/Race & everything between /

I read a posting in the Minority forum stating that Northern Africans do not fall as URM, so here's my dilemma, I am Northern African (Algeria), and while I am fully aware that Northern African fall under the category of Caucasian, I feel that it does not capture the majority of Northern Africans as Northern Africans are extremely mixed race people, I consider myself a moor and my family is a mix of Berber and Kabile. Being labeled as white, is the biggest hype I have ever heard of! I consider myself to be a woman of color, bottom line. While I realize, I could pass for just about anything under the rainbow (I have been mistaken for Iranian, Latina, and even Pakistani but never white) , I want to represent myself as accurately as possible. I also do not want to misrepresent myself as an African American or White. But I do not consider myself white. Any advice on how to approach the subject of race on my statement ? I am including link of my profile. Any feedback on how to tackle this subject in the way that makes most sense is greatly appreciated.

Any advice on how to approach the subject of race on my statement ? I am including link of my profile. Any feedback on how to tackle this subject in the way that makes most sense is greatly appreciated.

My advice - Don't tackle this subject in your personal statement. Don't use your personal statement to belabor on the issue of race. Instead, focus on what you have to offer. I would mention attributes not illustrated in a resume or application. There is nothing that states that you MUST address the issue of race in a personal statement. I would mention that your life experiences are diverse in that you have actually lived in some other country and have experienced a totally different culture which will ultimately give you a perspective unlike that of your colleagues. I would not worry about identifying with one race or the other, unless of course, you want to benefit from being an "URM" which may or may not actually be beneficial, depending on whose making decisions and how they feel that particular day. With that being said, you may want to consider checking the box on the application under race as "other" or just don't check any box. I completely understand that race has the potential to be a factor in admissions decisions, but once you get accepted, race will be of little importance. Your primary goal will be to score higher than the next person and I doubt if any of your professors will care what color you are or what country you are from (assumming that they are completley objective, fair, honest, etc).

Hope this helps. By the way - cute pics on facebook. Good luck! shoot me a message:)Sincerely,Mac N CHeese

I agree. It looks like, I'll be checking "other" instead. However, I tend to think that NF (North Africans) should be represented as URM with only 2% of us in the States, it gets lonely out here! What about having a diversity statement?

Thank you for your honest feedbacks, I appreciate that, and glad you like my pics:-)

I agree with Mac N Cheese. Use your personal statement to talk about what you will bring to the table. If you think your background influences what you have to offer then explain how. Otherwise, include a diversity statement that will explain how you and your background are unique. As for your URM status, in my opinion you are an URM. Don't just think of it as a label that someone else (society) would give you. Think of it has how you view yourself, your culture, and your background. You know that there probably are not too many North Africans in American Law Schools lol!

Thanks, that's good advice-- who knows I might be able to rack-up the URM recipient award of the year for a change! On a serious note, this seems to be the wisest avenue, my main point was that although I am Northern African, I don't want to be labeled as white just because I am from that area. I think that this rule unfairly assumes that all Northern Africans are white, when this is clearly not the case.